Dispensing apparatus.



R. C. BRADLEY.

DISPENSING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- 19. 1914.

1 wa -4L1 PatentedNov. 7, 1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET I.

ATTORNEYS R. C. BRADLEY. DISPENSING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JAN.19. 1914.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

4 suns-sneer 2.

ATTORNEYS R. C. BRADLEY. DISPENSING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19. 1914.

Patented Nov. "4', 1%16.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 WITNESSES R. C. BRADLEY. DISPENSING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 19. 191 4. L2%.2%1. Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

fication.

RICHARD C. BRADLEY, OF SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO LEE KINNEBREW AND ONE-FOURTH T0 3'. MALLY EASTHAM, BOTH 0F SHREVE- PORT, LOUISIANA, AND ONE-FOURTH TO C. FRANK IRELAND, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

DISPENSING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. '3', 1916.

Application filed January 19, 1914. Serial No. 818,036.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RICHARD C. BRADLEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Shreveport, in the parish of Caddo and State of Louisiana, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Dispensing Apparatus, of which the following is a speci- My invention relates to improvements in devices for dispensing articles both of a liquid and a solid nature, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed An object of my invention is to provide a device which may be stationed at any convenient place as for instance on a prominent corner or at the intersection of cross roads for dispensing liquids and containers for the same.

A further object of my invention is to provide means consisting of a series of individual locks whereby a large number of customers may be provided with private keys, so that when the locks are in certain positions the customer may have access to the dispensing apparatus and not otherwise.

Other objects and.advantages will appear in the following specification and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in. the accompanying drawings forming part of this application in which Figure 1 is a face view' of the device, Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2.2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 2' is a perspective view of a portion of one of the number bearing plates, Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the upper portion of the apparatus showing the parts inoperating position, Fig. 4 is a 'detail sec tion'al view through a portion of the lower part of the apparatus showing the means for releasing a door of one of the compartments, Fig. 5 is a section along the line 55. of Fig. 3, Fig. 6 is a sectional view along the line 66 of Fig. 2, Fig. 7 is a section along the line 77 of Fig. 2, Fig. 8 is a section along the line 8-8 of Fig. 9, Fig. 9 is a vertical section through the hose reel, Fig. 10 is a detail section through one of the locks, Fig. 11 is a section along the line 1111 of Fig. 10, Fig. 12 is a section along the line 12-12 of Fig. 10, Fig. 13 is a section, along the line view of the lock showing the parts thereof separate, Fig. 15 is a detail view showing the means for preventing the operation of the lock, Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a portion 2, an upper portion 3, and an intermediate portion 4. Surmounting the casing member 3 is a hinged top which I shall denote in general by 5.

Referring now to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the lower portion 2 of the casing is provided with a bottom 6 which forms the top of the bucket dispensing compartment which is disposed in the base portion 1. A second partition 7 forms with the bottom 6 a compartment for the retention of the several hose members which are carried upon reels in the manner hereinafter described. Each hose is rendered accessible by means of doors-such as those shown at 8, 9 and 10. The portion 3 of the casing contains the locks by means of which a customer having an individual key may attain access to the device. This portion 3 of the casing also .incloses the main operating mechanism for registering and recording the amount of the liquid sold and the time and date of such sale. The top part 5 contains certain registering mechanism which is operated by the apparatus within the-casing member 3.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that there is a partition member 11 having a downwardly extending flange 11 secured to the interior of the casing. Disposed on the partition 11 is a circular track having a ball race provided with balls 13 arranged to receive and support a circular member 14 carried by the bottom portion 15 of a frame composed of an outer row of uprights 16, and an inner concentric row of uprights 17. The members 16 are bent at their tops and are secured to the inner members 17, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The members 16 and 17 are provided with openings 16 and 17" respectively which are arranged to register with a vertical line of openings 3 in the exterior casing portion 3 when the frame is turned on the ball bearing supports, so as to bring the parts into the position shown in Fig. 2. In order to ner shown. The frame may be thus rotated.

' Carried by the frame is a series of locks like that shown in Figs. 10 to 14 inclusive. Each lock consists of a cylindrical barrel 19 (see Fig. 14) having a semicylindrical cutaway portion 20 and being provided with a central longitudinal slot 21 which is equal in length to the cut-away portion, as shown in Fig. 14. The cutting away of the cylindrical member 19 at 20 leaves a larger end portion 19 and a smaller end portion 19. The portion 19 contains pins of the type met with in the ordinary Yale lock. A slot 21 is made .in the portion 19 and a slot 21 in the portion 19. These slots 21 and 21 are narrower than the slot 21, but the axial planes of all three slots are coincident. The end 19 is arranged to enter an opening 17 a in the member 17, while the end 19 enters the registering opening 16 in the member 16, the lock being rotatably held in these alined openings.

-Arranged to slide in the slot 21 is a stop member 22 having secured to it a rod or bar 23, which is'bent at 23 and again at 23 to form a portion 23 which is parallel with the main bar 23, and which extends along the axis of the barrel 19. As will be seen from Figs. 11, 12 and 13 the bar 23 rests upon the casing 17, and is slidable therealong, as will be explained later. Disposed in a recess 24 is a rod or bar 25 like that shown in Fig. 14. This-rod has an areshaped lug or stop member 26 at one end and a head 27 at the other, the latter bearing a series of engaging surfaces such as those shown at 27, 27, 27 and 27 The rod 25 also bears a laterally extending lug 28. The rod is held normally in the position shown in Fig. 10 by means of a spring 29, which is secured to a pin 30 carried by the member 17. v

Referring'now particularly to Fig. 13 I have shown therein a key 31 which is adapted to enter one of the openings 3 in the outer casing 3 and to pass through into the alined slots 21, 21 and 21". These keys are designed to be individual keys, so that the insertion of a particular key in the lock will operate mechanism to subsequently identify which key was used to operate the lock. To this end each key is provided with a shoulder 31 on its under side, which is arranged to engage the end of the bar 23 at the stop member 22. It is also provided with a shoulder 31 on its upper side which is arranged to engage the end of the bar 25 at the lateral lug 26, as shown in Fig. 13. These shoulders 31 and 31 are designed to be placed at different distances from the shoulder 31', which engages the outer portion of the upright 16, and which limits the inward movement of the key into the lock. Both ofthe members 23 and 25 will be pushed inwardly by the mere insertion of the key 31 into the lock and the distances to which these members will be pushed inwardly will depend upon the particular key which is used with this lock. Besides pushing in these two bars the key operates the pins to permit the revolution of the lock in the same manner as in the ordinary Yale lock when the cam-portions 31 at the end of the key come into engagement with their corresponding pins.

It may be desirable in some cases, as for instance where a customer has not paid his bills, to arrange the device so that he will be unableto unlock the dispensing apparatus. To this end I arrange a bar 32 which extends above the lock, and which is held at its ends by means of the members 16 and 17. This bar is provided with a slot 32 and carries a series of stop members of the shape shown in Fig. 15. Each of these stop members has a lug 32", which is arranged when the stop member is in its upper position (as shown at the right in Fig. 15) to enter the slot 32 so as to hold the stop member up out of the way of the stop member 22, but which may be easily forced downwardly into the position shown at the left of Fig. 15 so as to bring the end 32 in direct alinement with the upwardly projecting end of the stop member 22, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 12.

Secured to the portion 19 of the lock and extending laterally thereof is an arm or pin 33 which is arranged to engage one of the laterally extending arms 34- (see Fig.

16) of a bar 34 which is slidably secured to the member 17, as shown in Fig. 16. The lower end of the bar 34 terminates in a head 35, which is arranged to enter a socket 36 at the upper end of a rod 37. The lower end of the rod 37 is bent laterally as shown at 37 and is adapted to enter either one of a plurality of U-shaped sockets such as those shown at 38, 38 and 38" in Fig. -16- carried at the upper ends of rods 39, 39 and 39", respectively, As will be seen from Figs. 1 and 3, the rod 39 is bent forwardly to operate the door 10. The rod 39 operates the door 9, while the rod 39" operates the door 8.

which the doors are unlocked and again locked may best be had by referring to Fig; 4. In this figure it will be seen that the rod 39 is bent downwardly and passes through a guide member 40 on the inner sideof the casing member 2. The lower end of the rod 39 is arranged to engage a slidable .member 41, which is carried by a slotted housing 42 secured to the inner side of the door 10. The member 41 has a pin 43 which enters the slot in the housing to limit the movement of the member 41. A spring 44'tends to normally keep the member 41 in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4, so as to lock the door 10 to the casing 2. It will be apparent that when the cylindrical member 19 of the lock is rotated by means of the key with the "rod' 37 in the position shown in Fig. 16, the latter will be pushed downwardly and will carry with it the rod 39 so as to force themember 41 in the position shown infull lines in Fig. 4, whereupon the door 10 will be forced outwardly and downwardly into the position shown in Fig. 3 by means of a link 45 whose outer end normally rests against the door in its closed position, as

shown in Fig. 4, and whose opposite end is pivotally attached at 46 to the arm 47 (see Fig. 3) of a valve 48, the arm 47 being normally under the tension of a spring 49. As will be seen from Fig. 2, the arm 47 is held in a downwardly inclined position by means of the link 45 which rests against the door. In this position the spring 49 is under a tension.

As will be seen from Fig. 4, the rod 39 is provided with a catch 39 which engages underneath a lug 2 of the interior of the casing 2. A spring pressed pin 50 is carried by the casing 2 and is arranged to move outwardly when the door 10 is opened.

The engagement of the catch 39s with the 9 lug 2 prevents the return of the rod 39 to its normal position and hence prevents the release of the key until the door is again closed. When the door is swung upwardly it engages the pin 50 and forces it against the lower end of the rod 39 thus pushing the catch 39 away fromits lug 2. and permitting an, upward movement of the rod when the key is turned in the reverse direction so as to bring the cylindrical member 19 into its normal position. It will thus be seen that if the customer should forget to close the door he could not withdraw his key. 'This will insure the closing of the door. V

As has been stated before, the opening of one of the doors such as the door 10, is effected by the spring 49 which at the same time opens the valve 48. The valve 48 controls the supply of liquid to be dispensed.

In Figs. 2 and 3, I have shown three of thesevalve s, although there may be more or less as occasion demands. The upper valve may which is located in any suitable position, as

for instance beneath the ground, or it maybe a pressure pipe line extending from a central source of supply not shown.

as shown in Fig. 16. Thus the meter 52 will be operated by the flow of gasolene, the meter 52 by the flow of kerosene and the meter 52 by the flow of water. The pipes 53 and 53 which correspond to the pipe 53 lead, of course, to the source of supply of the particular fluid which it is designed to dispense.

In order to enable one key to open the door of the particular compartment which contains the apparatus for dispensing the desired fluid, I provide the separate rods 39 39 and 39 as shown in Fig. 16. As is clearly seen from this figure, the rod 37 extends through a lever 54 which is pivoted. at

I prefer I to arrange the meters for-the different fluids 55, see Fig. 3, to the. partition 11. The U- shaped socket 36 is provided with a slot 36 into which an arm 56 extends. This arm 56 is secured upon the member 11 as shown in Fig. 3. and forms a pivotal member about which the U-shaped socket 36 may be swung. The lever 54 has a pointer 57, see Fig. 3, which may register with words, not shown, inscribed on the outer casing 3 to indicate the particular fluid which is designed to be withdrawn from the dispensingv device. Thus, if it is designed to withdraw kerosene, the lever would be pushed so as to bring the pointer 57 in alinement with the word Kerosene on the outside of the casing whereupon the hooked end 37 of the rod 37 would be brought into the socket 38 If, now the key is turned, then the door 9 of the middlecompartment shown in Fig. 2 would be opened, while if the lever were pushed still farther the door 8 might be opened when the end 37 a of the rod 37 enters the socket 38 In Fig. 2 I have shown reels upon which lengths of hose are wound.v All of these reels are alike, and a description of one will therefore, suflice.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, it will be seen that each reel comprises upper and lower plates 58 which are held together by a circular drum 58". The bottom plate 58 is journaled on the cylindrical portion 59 of a supporting plate 60 which extends inwardly from the front wall of the casing 2. A barrel 61 containing a spiral spring 62, is secured to the cylindrical member 59, the spring 62 being secured at one end to the wall of the barrel 61, and at the other to an integral hub 63 having a socket at one end, into which a projection (34 of the cylindrical member 59 enters. The pipe 51 upon which the valve 48 is located enters a socket in the hub member 63. This pipe is provided with a series of outlets 65 which communicate with a pipe 66 which extends through the hub 63 and also through the drum 58", where it communicates with a flexible hose 67. The latter is normally wound upon the drum 58 as shown in dotted lines in Fig; 7 and the end of the hose projects through a plate 68 which is located just inside of the door to the compartment. The hose 67 is provided with'a manually operated valve or cock 69.

When the door is opened in the manner already described, the hose may be pulled out by simply drawing outwardly on the hose until the latter is in position to deliver the fluid. Thus, if the gasolene tank of an automobile is to be replenished the hose will be pulled until the nozzle is in a position to discharge the gasolene into the tank. Immediately onturning the'cock 69, the flow of the liquid begins. has drawn as much of the liquid as desired he shuts off the flow by closing the cook 69 and drops the hose. As the hose was being pulled out, the spring 62 was being put under increased tension so that on the re-.

which prevent conflagration if by any chance the oil or other inflammable material should ignite. This feature is best illustrated in Fig. 2. As will be seen, the pipes are each rovided with a valve similar to the valve $0 on the pipe 53. This valve has an arm 71, which is normally held (by a fusible or combustible member 72 such as a wire of fusible metal or a cord or other flexible device which will disintegrate by heat) against the tension of the spring 73 so as to maintain the valve in an open position, thereby permitting a free flow of the fluid from the supply tank to the meter device. If, however, a fire should occur, the destruction of the member 7 2 will permit the valve 70 to close under the action of the spring 73, thereby shutting off a further supply of the fluid and thus eliminating danger of a conflagration which might do considerable damage.

Suflicient explanation of the operation of the apparatus has already been given, so as to afford a good understanding of the arrangement of the locking system. As has When the customer been before stated the locks are arranged in horizontal rows in a frame. horizontal rows is designated by a particular serial letter. Thus in Fig. 1 the letters run from A to J. The locks however are not only arranged in horizontal rows, but they are also arranged in vertical rows, such a vertical row being shown in Fig. 16 and also Each of these These numerals are adapted to apalinement with the openings '3 by turning the hand wheel 18, as previously described. The number wheel=187 bears fifty numerals, and it is designed that each lock shall .be operated by fifty different keys. All the keys which operate in one look will, of

course, have the same serial letter. Further-. more those keys which are operated from 1 to 50, and which are therefore adapted to operate a lock in the first row (since the numbers 1 to 50 are included within the limits 1 to 500) will operate a lock in the first vertical row and in the first horizontal row A. Keys operated from 50 to and falling within the limits 1 to 500 will operate a lock in the first vertical row but in the second horizontal row B. Keys operated from 100 to 150 will operate a lock in the first vertical row but in the third horizontal row.

Now let us consider what is necessary to 1. In a liquid dispensing device, the comd bination of a supply pipe, a casing, a door therefor, a normally closed control valve for said supply pipe, a spring for placing said control valve under tension, means for locking the door, and means disposed between the door and the control valve for holding the latter in its normally closed position against the tension of the control valve spring.

2. In a liquid dispensing device, the combination of a supply pipe, a casing, a door therefor, a normally closed control valve for said supply pipe, a spring for placing said control valve under tension, means for looking the door, means disposed between the door and the control valve for holding the latter in its normally closed position against the tension of the control valve spring, and means for unlocking the door, thereby permitting the opening of the control valve and the forcing open of the door by the control valve spring.

3. In a liquid dispensing device, the combination of a supply pipe, a casing, a door therefor, a normally closed control'valve for said supply pipe, a spring for placing said control valve under tension, means for locking the door, means disposed between the door and the control Valve for holding the latter in its normally-closed position against the tension of the control valve spring, means for unlocking the'door, "thereby permitting the opening of the control valve and the forcing open of the door by the control valve spring, a casing having a compart ment, a door therefor, means for locking the door, means for placing the door under tension, a key for unlocking the door, and means for preventing the withdrawal of the key until the door is closed.

4. In a liquid dispensing device, the combination of a supply pipe, a casing, a door therefor, a normally closed control valve for said supply pipe, a spring for placing said control valve under tension, means for locking the door, means disposed between the door and the control valve for holding the latter in its normally closed position against the tension of the control valve spring, means for unlocking the door, thereby permitting the opening of the control valve and the forcing open of the door by the control valve spring, a casing having a compartment, a door therefor, means for locking the door, means for placing the door under tension, a key for unlocking the door, means for preventing the withdrawal of the key until the door is closed, a casing, a hinged door therefor, a lock for said door comprising a slidable member carried by the door and arranged to normally engage the interior of the casing, a push rod for moving said slidable member to free the door from the casing, means for retaining said push rod in its shifted position, and means carried by the casing and arranged to be engaged by the .door when the latter is closed for releasing said push rod and permitting its return to normal position.

5. In a liquid dispensing device, the combination of a supply pipe, a casing, a door therefor, a normally closed control valve for said supply pipe, a spring for placing said control valve under tension, means for looking the door, means disposed between the door and the control valve for holding the latter in its normally closed position against the tension of the control valve spring, means for unlocking the door, thereby permitting the opening of the control valve and the forcing open of the door by the control valve spring, a casing having a compartment, a door therefor, means for locking the door,-means for placing the door under tension, a key for unlocking the door, means for preventing the withdrawal of the key until the door is closed, a casing, a hinged door therefor, a lock for said door comprising a slidable member carried by the door and arranged to normally engage the interior of the casing, a push rod for moving said slidable member to free the door from the easing, means for retaining said push rod in its shifted position, means carried by the casing and arranged to be engaged by the door when the latter is closed for releasing said push rod and permitting its return to normal position, said last named means comprisingv a spring-pressed pin extending through the casing, one end of said pin being arranged to be engaged by the door, and" the other end of said pin being in operative relation with said push rod.

,6. In a liquid dispensing device, the combination of a supply pipe, a casing, a door therefor, a normally closed control valve for said supply pipe, a spring for placing said control valve under tension, means for locking the door, means disposed between the door and the control valve for holding the latter in its normally closed position against the tension of the control valve spring, means for unlocking the door, thereby permitting the opening of the control valve and the forcing open of the door by the control valve spring, a casing having a compartment, a door therefor, means for locking the door, means for placing the door under tension, a key for unlocking the door,

means for preventing the withdrawal of thekey until the door is closed, a casing, a hinged door therefor, a lock for said door comprising a slidable member carried by the door and arranged to normally engage the interior of the casing, a push rod for moving said slidable member to free the door from the casing, means for retaining said push rod in its shifted position, means carried by the casing and arranged to be engaged by the door when the latter is closed for releasing said push rod and permitting its return to normal position, said last named means comprising a springpressed pin extending through the casing, one end of said pin being arranged to be engaged by the door and the other end of said pin being in operative" relation with said push rod, a rotatable cylinder, means connected with said rotatable cylinder for operating said push rod, and a key for turning said rotatable cylinder.

7. In a dispensing device for liquids, a

plurality of supply pipes, a liquid motor connected with each of said supply pipes, a

plurality of normally closed controlvalves,

a pipe connecting said liquid motor with each of said control valves, a compartment for each control valve, a door for each compartment, means for locking said doors, and means operated by a single key for opening either of the doors.

8. In a liquid dispensing device, a casing having a plurality of compartments, a normally locked door for each compartment,

a push rod associated with each of said having a plurality of vertical rows of locks arranged to register with the vertical row of openings in said casing, and means for rotating said frame to bring a predetermined vertical row of locks into registration with the openings in the casing.

10. In a liquid dispensing device, a casing provided with a vertical row of openings, a rotatable frame disposed'within said casing and provided with a series of horizontal rows of locks,all the locks of one horizontal row being arranged to be brought successively into registration with one of the openings in said casing, and means for rotating the frame which carries the locks.

11. In a dispensing apparatus, a casing having a vertical row of openings, a rotatable frame disposed within the casing and having a plurality of vertical rows of locks arranged to register with the vertical row.

of openings in the casing, means for rotating said frame to bring a predetermined vertical row of locks into registration with the openings in the casing, a door carried by the casing, a common locking rod arranged to be actuated by any of said locks, and a door adapted to be unlocked by said com-.

mon rod.

12. In a dispensing apparatus, a casing having a vertical row of openings, a rotatable frame disposed within the casing and having a plurality of vertical rows of locks arranged to register with the vertical row of openings in the casing, means for rotating said frame to bring a predetermined vertical row of looks into registration with the openings in said casing, a door carried by the casing, a common locking rod arranged to be actuated by any of said locks, and a plurality of doors each adapted to be unlocked by said common locking rod.

RICHARD C. BRADLEY.

" Witnesses:

G. M. LEADMAN, M. B. RANKIN, ELIAS Gonns'rnm. 

